HDPVR fan mod

[Hatterasman]

I added a fan to my hdpvr today and am very happy with the results. Hauppauge designed the hd-pvr to have a fan and I took advantage of the following features:

1) The hd-pvr has a 5-volt fan header on the system board.
2) There is a space in the clear section of the top of the case that is exactly 80 mm wide.
3) There are 8 led mounts in the clear section of the top. 2 of the 4 blue leds obstruct the 80mm hole and can be relocated to empty mounting holes.

Materials used:
80 mm 5-volt fan (evercool)
(2) 80 mm mesh grills
2-pin male fan jack

Procedure:
Disassemble hdpvr (4 screws under rubber feet)
Case mod – cut a custom grill hole in silver top (search goggle for “case mods fan grills” for ideas) I made sure this lined up with the 80 mm hole in the clear section of the top.
Installed fan sandwiched between mesh grills. Top grill keeps fingers out, bottom grill keeps led wires out of fan.
Insert 2-pin fan plug into holes in system board from the bottom and solder in place from the top.
Plug fan in.
Reassembly hdpvr.

The 5-volt fan header is “smart” in that the hdpvr only applies voltage to the pins when it is recording, otherwise the fan is off.

-Jeff

[sic0048]

Got any pictures? I've read about people doing fan mods before, but I haven't heard of utilizing the fan header and case design to do it.

I'd like to get more information.

[Hatterasman]

The fan, an Evercool EC8015, grill and a 3-pin plug are available from frozenCPU.com. I pulled the 3rd fan speed pin from the connector before using.

I'll take and post some pictures soon.

Jeff

[ericscottf]

I wonder what kind of amperage is safe to pull from that header. Is it mentioned anywhere?

Right now, i have a 120vac fan blowing across my stack of two cable boxes, two HD-pvrs and 1 hdhr, and it is externally cool, but probably still hot on the inside. The fan also runs constantly.

The 5v header sounds nice, but i'd be worried about blowing it if i didn't know what it was meant to put out.

[KeithAbbott]

I'll add a couple more questions to the previous posting.

• Was the fan installed inside of the hdpvr, or bolted on top of the case?
• Is the fan mounted such that airflow is blowing out of the case, or into the case?
• frozenCPU also carries an Evercool EC8025 fan, which is similar except that it is 25mm deep instead of 15mm. Assuming the fan is mounted inside of the hdpvr case, is there enough room to use the 25mm fan, or are we limited to a 15mm fan?

[ericscottf]

To add on even more --
The fan blows either in or out, are there holes elsewhere in the box to let the air travel through the box?

[Hatterasman]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

I'll add a couple more questions to the previous posting.

• Was the fan installed inside of the hdpvr, or bolted on top of the case?
• Is the fan mounted such that airflow is blowing out of the case, or into the case?
• frozenCPU also carries an Evercool EC8025 fan, which is similar except that it is 25mm deep instead of 15mm. Assuming the fan is mounted inside of the hdpvr case, is there enough room to use the 25mm fan, or are we limited to a 15mm fan?

Fan is mounted inside,attached to the underside of the top.

Fan is blowing up/out

I'll take it apart again and take better measurements of the depth.

[Hatterasman]

Originally Posted by ericscottf

I wonder what kind of amperage is safe to pull from that header. Is it mentioned anywhere?

Right now, i have a 120vac fan blowing across my stack of two cable boxes, two HD-pvrs and 1 hdhr, and it is externally cool, but probably still hot on the inside. The fan also runs constantly.

The 5v header sounds nice, but i'd be worried about blowing it if i didn't know what it was meant to put out.

The fan I purchased is the Evercool EC8015M05CA 2500 rpm fan.

Evercool's website does not list the specs for this fan however their specs list a 8010L low speed 2500 rpm 5v fan rated at .28 amp, and a 8010M medium speed fans show a speed of 3000 and is rated at .5 amp.

They also list an 8010LL low low speed 2000 rpm gan rated at .26 amp

The "M" in the model number indicates a medium speed fan, but the specs (2500 rpm) put it in the low speed range of the 10mm fan.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by Hatterasman

3) There are 8 led mounts in the clear section of the top. 2 of the 4 blue leds obstruct the 80mm hole and can be relocated to empty mounting holes.
-Jeff

Can we rip these out, throw them on the floor and jump up and down on them?

[wrems]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Can we rip these out, throw them on the floor and jump up and down on them?

I couldn't resist

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...70494980077764

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Can we rip these out, throw them on the floor and jump up and down on them?

Here here!

1. Since LED's are diodes they provide a small voltage drop and next to no resistance. That's why you have to put a resistor in series with them to keep them from burning themselves out.
2. In theory you should be able to cut them off the board, or cut a trace if they are SMT devices, and the hardware would never know the difference unless it had a continuity test circuit for them, and if it did because of 1 you should be able to just twist wires together or run a jumper around the diode, after you have disconnected it, and the continuity check should pass and the circuit should not be damaged.

If you try it, let us know how it works

Originally Posted by wrems

I couldn't resist

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...70494980077764

HAH now I gotta watch Office Space again!

[Hatterasman]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Can we rip these out, throw them on the floor and jump up and down on them?

Yes, each of the 4 LEDs are held in place by a dab of hot melt glue. I simply picked the glue off with my fingernail and the LED comes right out. All 4 LEDs wire to a common plug on the system board.

All that is needed to make them available for stomping is to unplug them.

[thomaszoo]

Originally Posted by Hatterasman

Procedure:
Insert 2-pin fan plug into holes in system board from the bottom and solder in

Are the holes labeled on the bottom of the board? I didn't see anything on the top that indicated it was for a fan.

Originally Posted by Hatterasman

Fan is mounted inside,attached to the underside of the top.

Fan is blowing up/out

Was there a particular reason you have the fan blowing up and out? In general you should get better cooling by blowing down into the HDPVR. I currently have a fan sitting on top blowing in that is connected to an external PS, but would like a cleaner solution.

Thanks.

Wayne

[Hatterasman]

Originally Posted by thomaszoo

Are the holes labeled on the bottom of the board? I didn't see anything on the top that indicated it was for a fan.




Was there a particular reason you have the fan blowing up and out? In general you should get better cooling by blowing down into the HDPVR. I currently have a fan sitting on top blowing in that is connected to an external PS, but would like a cleaner solution.

Thanks.

Wayne

The holes are labeled +5v and GND. There is also an outine of the shape of the older style 2-pin fan header plug.

My thought was pulling less dust in from the bottom. I did consider one of the add-on grills that contain a filter if I went for blowing in.

[Hatterasman]

Picture attached.

[sic0048]

Thanks for the picture. It really helps!

[thomaszoo]

Yes, thanks for the pictures. It would have taken me awhile to figure out how to remove the system board, also. Mine does not have the LEDs. I won't have a chance to look at it until this weekend (a full day today, and a new HD300 to install first chance I get). Really looking forward to getting this done. Thanks again for your help.